What may first appear as a sunny side up egg is actually
NASA Hubble Space Telescope's face-on snapshot of the
small spiral galaxy NGC 7742. But NGC 7742 is not a
run-of-the-mill spiral galaxy. In fact, this spiral is
known to be a Seyfert 2 active galaxy, a type of galaxy
that is probably powered by a black hole residing in its
core. The core of NGC
7742 is the large yellow "yolk" in the center of the image.
The lumpy, thick ring around this core is an area of active
starbirth. The ring is about 3,000 light-years from the core.
Tightly
wound spiral arms also are faintly visible. Surrounding
the inner ring is a wispy band of material, which is probably
the remains of a once very active stellar breeding ground.
(Courtesy of NASA/STScI/AURA)